The article is spot on - if Dean got that much money from the internet, think how much Gore would get!

Indeed. He did invent it, after all.

Careful there DH, you're starting to believe the Faux News propaganda. Here's a great article from journalist David Jacobsen written during the 2000 election, dispelling the myth that Gore claimed to invent the internet:

quote:

The Issue Is TrustLet's say the Associated Press or Time Magazine wants to consider me for a job. I'd have to whisk together a resume that might include the following: "My column appears regularly on the award-winning editorial page of the Mountain Democrat." Of course, I had nothing to do with winning the award, earned by Editor Michael Raffety. He did, though, let me park on his illustrious page. So nobody could fault me for basking in his reflected glory. Unless, of course, I were running for president. Exhibit A is Al Gore. People eager to lie about him continue to portray him as a liar. First lie, that he claims to have "invented" the Internet. Second lie, that he claims to have "discovered" the pollution of Love Canal. Third lie, that he falsely claims to be the model for Oliver Barrett IV, hero of Love Story. Gore never claimed that he "invented" the Internet, which implies that he engineered the technology. The invention occurred in the seventies and allowed scientists in the Defense Department to communicate with each other. In a March 1999 interview with Wolf Blitzer, Gore said, "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet." Taken in context, the sentence, despite some initial ambiguity, means that as a congressman Gore promoted the system we enjoy today, not that he could patent the science, though that's how the quotation has been manipulated. Hence the disingenuous substitution of "inventing" for the actual language. For a heady while we hoped that the Bush campaign would prove their man to be the champion of honesty and integrity that he pretends to be, especially for those looking for a squeaky clean new White House. A couple of weeks ago the campaign rejected a shoddy commercial showing Gore saying that Clinton never told a lie. Problem was that the clip showed an interview from 1994, long before Clinton ever heard of Monica Lewinsky. To his credit, Bush scrapped the commercial before it aired. But as I write, his campaign is unloading a new commercial, featuring a sneer at the fragment from the Internet claim, again implying that Gore had nothing to do with the Internet's creation. At least they got the words right; it would be dangerous to doctor the tape. But the real question is what, if anything, did Gore actually do to create the modern Internet? According to Vincent Cerf, a senior vice president with MCI Worldcom who's been called the Father of the Internet, "The Internet would not be where it is in the United States without the strong support given to it and related research areas by the Vice President in his current role and in his earlier role as Senator." The inventor of the Mosaic Browser, Marc Andreesen, credits Gore with making his work possible. He received a federal grant through Gore's High Performance Computing Act. The University of Pennsylvania's Dave Ferber says that without Gore the Internet "would not be where it is today." Joseph E. Traub, a computer science professor at Columbia University, claims that Gore "was perhaps the first political leader to grasp the importance of networking the country. Could we perhaps see an end to cheap shots from politicians and pundits about inventing the Internet?"The Love Canal canard distorts a story Gore told to a high school class in Concord, New Hampshire. In answer to a question about how students could get involved in politics, Gore described a letter he'd received from a girl in West Tennessee while he was a congressman. Based on the girl's complaint about a poisoned well, he organized an investigation, which in turn led to other pollution sites, culminating in the expose of Love Canal. Referring to the well in Toone, Tennessee, Gore said, "That was the one you didn't hear of--but that was the one that started it all." The media was quick to misquote the line as "I was the one that started it all." Seemingly dissatisfied with Gore's style, the Republican National Committee improved the line thus: "I was the one who started it all." When the Concord Monitor and the Boston Globe exposed what had really been said in that high school class, the New York Times, the Washington Post and U.S. News offered grudging corrections of their reportorial errors. Some of the media's stars had rare fun with the idea that Al Gore was the kernel for Ryan O'Neal's most famous role; but no one seemed interested in finding out whether Gore was telling the truth or not. CNBC's Chris Matthews chortled. "It reminds me of Snoopy thinking he's the Red Baron." But in this case Snoopy really is the Red Baron. Erich Segal, author of Love Story, corroborated that Gore and his Harvard roommate, Tommy Lee Jones, were indeed the models for the story's main character. Given that Gore was telling the truth, what's the issue? We have an odd bit of trivia of no relevance to the election--except to those liars who want to portray Gore as a liar. All of these malicious whoppers have been exposed for over a year and have received pusillanimous apologies, often mean-spirited and grudging, from the so-called "liberal" press that promoted them. But like a corrupting disease the lies simply refuse to go away. Unless Bush gets out of the tank with the media bottom feeders, he's not going to make it, especially in an election revolving around honesty and integrity.

Oh, how I wish that last sentence had came true. Sigh.

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“When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun.”

Eddie: "Weve been burgaled" Richie: You may have been, but I have never in my life. As a christian I am so tightly clenched, oh you mean burgaled - - - There were originally five horsemen of the apocalypse. Jack Bauer said he would travel by foot

The Clinton campaign has gone into overdrive over remarks Hollywood mogul David Geffen made about Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and former (definitely former now) pal Bill Clinton to Maureen Dowd in her column today. And the Clinton campaign is taking aim not just at Mr. Geffen, but at one of Mrs. Clinton’s top rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination — Senator Barack Obama, whose fund-raising blitz in Hollywood raked in $1.3 million last night at receptions co-sponsored by Mr. Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg. While Ms. Dowd’s column is available only to Times-Select subscribers, here are a few choice Geffen quotes that the Clinton campaign calls “personal attacks” on the senator and the former president: “Not since the Vietnam War has there been this level of disappointment in the behavior of America throughout the world, and I don’t think that another incredibly polarizing figure, no matter how smart she is and no matter how ambitious she is — and God knows, is there anybody more ambitious than Hillary Clinton? — can bring the country together. “Obama is inspirational, and he’s not from the Bush royal family or the Clinton royal family. Americans are dying every day in Iraq. And I’m tired of hearing James Carville on television.” Of Mr. Clinton, and whether there’s Clinton fatigue these days, as Ms. Dowd writes, Mr. Geffen continued: “I don’t think anybody believes that in the last six years, all of a sudden Bill Clinton has become a different person,” Mr. Geffen says, adding that if Republicans are digging up dirt, they’ll wait until Hillary is the nominee to use it. “I think they believe she’s the easiest to defeat.” And of Mrs. Clinton’s war stance and campaign so far: “It’s not a very big thing to say, ‘I made a mistake’ on the war, and typical of Hillary Clinton that she can’t,” Mr. Geffen says. “She’s so advised by so many smart advisers who are covering every base. I think that America was better served when the candidates were chosen in smoke-filled rooms.” The Clinton campaign shot back today, saying the Obama campaign should denounce Mr. Geffen’s remarks. Howard Wolfson, one of Mrs. Clinton’s top advisers said in a statement: While Senator Obama was denouncing slash and burn politics yesterday, his campaign’s finance chair was viciously and personally attacking Senator Clinton and her husband. If Senator Obama is indeed sincere about his repeated claims to change the tone of our politics, he should immediately denounce these remarks, remove Mr. Geffen from his campaign and return his money. While Democrats should engage in a vigorous debate on the issues, there is no place in our party or our politics for the kind of personal insults made by Senator Obama’s principal fundraiser. Uh, we’re taking bets that Mr. Obama will not return the Hollywood star-studded cash he drew this week. As for whether he or his campaign will respond, stay tuned.

Update: Well, the Obama campaign responds rapidly, and we’d add, pretty much just as sharply. From Robert Gibbs, the campaign’s communications director: We aren’t going to get in the middle of a disagreement between the Clintons and someone who was once one of their biggest supporters. It is ironic that the Clintons had no problem with David Geffen when was raising them $18 million and sleeping at their invitation in the Lincoln bedroom. It is also ironic that Senator Clinton lavished praise on Monday and is fully willing to accept today the support of South Carolina State Sen. Robert Ford, who said if Barack Obama were to win the nomination, he would drag down the rest of the Democratic Party because ’he’s black.’” South Carolina State Senator Robert Ford said an African American couldn’t be elected: “It’s a slim possibility for him to get the nomination, but then everybody else is doomed,” Ford said. “Every Democrat running on that ticket next year would lose ­ because he’s black and he’s top of the ticket. We’d lose the House and the Senate and the governors and everything. I’m a gambling man. I love Obama,” Ford said. “But I’m not going to kill myself.” (AP, 2/13/07) Clinton Thanked Sen. Robert Ford For His Support. At a South Carolina rally, Clinton recognized Ford’s presence in the audience and she thanked him for his support. [New York Times, 2/19/07]

Further Update: Just for clarification, and as we alluded to above by describing Mr. Geffen as a cosponsor of Mr. Obama’s fundraiser Tuesday night, he is not the finance chairman for the Obama campaign.

Didn't take long for the mud to start flying.

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“When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun.”

What I dread are the commercials that will start up soon. It's just insane how much the mud slings and then it really heats up right before the election.

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I feel like I'm Han Solo, and you're Chewie and she's Ben Kenobi and we're in that fucked-up bar.

This is the captain speaking. It appears we are going down. Now may be the time to reflect upon your life and pray to whatever deity you believe in. We know you have your choice of airlines and apparently you made the wrong one.

At the moment, I think a Clinton-Obama ticket would be the best idea for the Dems. Obama will get the 'lack of experience' criticisim levelled at him at every turn, but Hillary has that in spades. It also sets up Obama in 4-8 years in a prime position to take over.

I quite like the idea of America having a woman, and then a black man in power. might change a few things, or just split the country even more.

As for the Republicans, Giuliani is both pro-choice and pro-gun control. Not a bad person to get their nomination.

If I was American and Hillary would run for president it would probably be the a good reason to for the first time in my life abstain from voting, cause I just cannot stand her...She is too much a "politician", I don't think she has a sincere bone in her body. She was quick to support Iraq when the mood swung pro-war after 9/11 and unlike other politicians I have always felt she supported it solely for her own political motives. Not a quality I would like my president to have...I think so much is being made of Obama's lack of experience I actually think that is a major advantage for him because people are fed up with all the behind the scene politics that is going on...Problem is that it is a big IF whether he truly stands a chance to win, because of his skin color...

If I was American and Hillary would run for president it would probably be the a good reason to for the first time in my life abstain from voting, cause I just cannot stand her...She is too much a "politician", I don't think she has a sincere bone in her body. She was quick to support Iraq when the mood swung pro-war after 9/11 and unlike other politicians I have always felt she supported it solely for her own political motives. Not a quality I would like my president to have...I think so much is being made of Obama's lack of experience I actually think that is a major advantage for him because people are fed up with all the behind the scene politics that is going on...Problem is that it is a big IF whether he truly stands a chance to win, because of his skin color...

Can he bag those Southern states? The US Presidents of the past need them more often then not

If I was American and Hillary would run for president it would probably be the a good reason to for the first time in my life abstain from voting, cause I just cannot stand her...She is too much a "politician", I don't think she has a sincere bone in her body. She was quick to support Iraq when the mood swung pro-war after 9/11 and unlike other politicians I have always felt she supported it solely for her own political motives. Not a quality I would like my president to have...I think so much is being made of Obama's lack of experience I actually think that is a major advantage for him because people are fed up with all the behind the scene politics that is going on...Problem is that it is a big IF whether he truly stands a chance to win, because of his skin color...

Can he bag those Southern states? The US Presidents of the past need them more often then not

He doesn't necessarily need them to win the White House. Remember Bush swept Kerry in the south and only beat him in the end because of northern Ohio. Ohio has now gone Democrat after the Republican scandals there in recent years that saw Dems gain a senate seat and take control of the Governor's Mansion in the mid-terms. I think there's only Guiliani who could win Ohio for the Republicans and I doubt he'll survive the Republican primaries (even if he does he will be severly wounded). The electoral math is in the Dems favour heading into 08 with the vast majority of the house, senate and governorships in play in 2008 being Republican held thus draining resources and staff from their Presidential campaign. Obama will also energise the huge black vote in the south that usually stays home, even if he is not able to win those states this could force Republicans to divert resources and money from other places into states that they would have usually won easily. Obama on the Dem ticket in any shape or form is a good thing in my view.

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“When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun.”

If I was American and Hillary would run for president it would probably be the a good reason to for the first time in my life abstain from voting, cause I just cannot stand her...She is too much a "politician", I don't think she has a sincere bone in her body. She was quick to support Iraq when the mood swung pro-war after 9/11 and unlike other politicians I have always felt she supported it solely for her own political motives. Not a quality I would like my president to have...I think so much is being made of Obama's lack of experience I actually think that is a major advantage for him because people are fed up with all the behind the scene politics that is going on...Problem is that it is a big IF whether he truly stands a chance to win, because of his skin color...

Can he bag those Southern states? The US Presidents of the past need them more often then not

He doesn't necessarily need them to win the White House. Remember Bush swept Kerry in the south and only beat him in the end because of northern Ohio. Ohio has now gone Democrat after the Republican scandals there in recent years that saw Dems gain a senate seat and take control of the Governor's Mansion in the mid-terms. I think there's only Guiliani who could win Ohio for the Republicans and I doubt he'll survive the Republican primaries (even if he does he will be severly wounded). The electoral math is in the Dems favour heading into 08 with the vast majority of the house, senate and governorships in play in 2008 being Republican held thus draining resources and staff from their Presidential campaign. Obama will also energise the huge black vote in the south that usually stays home, even if he is not able to win those states this could force Republicans to divert resources and money from other places into states that they would have usually won easily. Obama on the Dem ticket in any shape or form is a good thing in my view.

good points but I still have my doubts. Racism is not only a factor in the South (or other "Republican" states). Throughout most of the US (like in Europe) prejudice takes on very subtle forms and it doesn't take a genius to predict that just the colour of his skin will sway a lot votes against him.

Also we cannot take the black vote for granted. Obama is the son of an African father and a white mother and as such does not share the African-American culture. Most African Americans I know do / would not consider him one of their own. Yes, some would automatically vote for him because he is black and a Dem, but for others it might even work against him here, due to a possible sentiment of "why is there a half white half African dude running for office and not one of us"... so even here it is pretty unpredictable whether he really has the advantage or not.

Anthrax Scare at Edwards Campaign HeadquartersCHAPEL HILL - The campaign headquarters of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards reopened today after authorities determined that the white powder found in an envelope wasn't dangerous, campaign officials told The Associated Press. Edwards said a letter in the envelope contained "some negative comments" and powder spilled out of the envelope, but he didn't elaborate on what teh letter said or its possible source. Preliminary testing found that the powder contained no chemical or biological agents, said Jane Cousins, a spokeswoman for the Chapel Hill police. Further testing will continue for the next several days. "It's like any high-profile presidential campaign, you're going to encounter threats and these kinds of instances," Edwards said during a conference call before a scheduled speech at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire. The office was evacuated Wednesday afternoon after a worker there opened the envelope. The discovery prompted an investigation by local police, firefighters, the FBI, the Hazardous Materials Regional Response team from Raleigh, and the Orange County Health Department. It was unclear where Edwards, who recently moved to Orange County, was when the letter was opened. He is scheduled to be in New Hampshire today. A woman working in Edwards' campaign office in Southern Village found the powder at 4 p.m. as she opened mail for the former senator. She immediately threw the white legal-size envelope into a nearby mail bin and rushed to wash her hands, Cousin said. Police were called to the office at 410 Market St. in the mix of offices, shops and homes in the southern Chapel Hill community. Federal, county and regional investigators were called to assist. By late Wednesday, the envelope had been taken to the parking lot of the Chapel Hill Police Department several miles away on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. White powder in letters has been associated with anthrax since an attack in 2001 killed five people and sickened 17. The substance was mailed to lawmakers on Capitol Hill and members of the news media in New York and Florida just weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Edwards campaign worker did not know to whom the envelope was addressed or where it was from, investigators said. Chapel Hill police said they didn't know whether there was any written message in the envelope. Police lauded the woman's swift response to the suspicious mail. "Everything's been contained," Capt. Bob Overton of the Chapel Hill Police Department said several hours after the call came in. "They did exactly what they should; it was textbook. You divest yourself of the package, wash your hands and call the authorities."

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“When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun.”

Bloomberg Eyeing The White House New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a self-made billionaire, has told friends more than once that his definition of good financial planning is making sure the check to the undertaker bounces when it's finally time to go. So how does a billionaire spend all his money before he dies? In Bloomberg's case, he just might drop a cool half-billion on a long-shot bid to become the nation's first modern president from outside the two major political parties. As fellow New Yorkers Rudy Giuliani (R) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D) campaign vigorously across the country to become their parties' nominees and prepare for what would be an electric general-election clash, Bloomberg is governing the "ungovernable city" -- and patiently waiting in the wings. Publicly, the Democrat-turned-Republican professes no interest in the top job at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. But the founder of the Bloomberg financial news empire has dropped enough hints and has had enough tantalizing discussions with potential supporters that people who observe the city's politics for a living are convinced he is at least thinking about it. "He would be a very compelling candidate," said civil rights activist Al Sharpton, himself a once and potentially future presidential hopeful from the Big Apple, and a friend of the mayor's. Sharpton called Bloomberg "Ross Perot with a resume" and predicted that "if he operates as he's done in other parts of his life, he will put both feet in." Bloomberg, 65, has told confidants that he will not decide until early next year, when it has become clear whom Democrats and Republicans will nominate. If he runs for president as a self-financed independent, New York could find itself home to a trio of presidential candidates, an oddity for a state and city often portrayed as far outside the mainstream of American political and social life. "You are dealing with people who have in one way or another been perceived as having conquered New York," Sharpton said. "After that, what else is there to do but conquer the country?" "It's the water," joked former New York mayor Edward I. Koch, who is supporting Clinton but said he would welcome Bloomberg to the race. "There's no lead in it, which can cloud your thinking." Clear thinking might lead a politician to decide that running for president as a third-party candidate would be a fool's errand. Consumer activist Ralph Nader won about 2.7 percent of the vote in 2000. H. Ross Perot, another billionaire businessman, drew about 19 percent in 1992 after spending about $60 million of his personal fortune. Stu Loeser, Bloomberg's press secretary, said flatly last week that his boss is not considering a presidential campaign. "He has dinner with people. People ask him questions. He engages in conversation," Loeser said, explaining the genesis of stories about the mayor's presidential ambitions. "He has been very clear and explicit that he is not running for president." Not running now? Or not running ever? "The question has been asked every which way," Loeser said. "The answer is no. He has been very clear that he's not running." But despite those denials the rumblings persist, perhaps because, unlike most politicians, Bloomberg has vast wealth that allows him the luxury to wait until next year to decide. As then-New York Gov. Mario M. Cuomo (D) proved 15 years ago, there's nothing quite so appealing in politics as someone who is merely mulling a White House bid. A close friend who has spoken to Bloomberg about the pros and cons of a presidential campaign said that "it is still on his mind." But the friend, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of respect for Bloomberg's privacy, said the mayor would have to be convinced that there is a compelling rationale for him to run. "If he felt that the candidates were likely to be such that it gave him the opportunity, he would do it," the friend said. "It's a long shot, but not 100 to 1." At No. 142 on the Forbes list of the word's richest people, Bloomberg is worth at least $5.5 billion. He controls a private company that provides real-time financial data to money managers and others around the globe. And he has built a news-gathering organization that employs more than 1,000 reporters. A generous philanthropist, Bloomberg has pledged to eventually give away his fortune and has constructed a building around the corner from his East 79th Street townhouse to provide the headquarters for his charitable foundation. Political observers say he has enough money to blanket the country with television ads for months if he becomes a candidate. "He'd be a candidate almost in the progressive tradition," said Hank Sheinkopf, a New York political consultant. "He could make the argument: 'A pox on both their houses.' He's a celebrity by definition because he's a billionaire." His money -- and a post-Sept. 11 desire for a steady hand -- helped elect Bloomberg mayor in 2001. His first year was rocky; he confronted a budget deficit as high as $6 billion and pushed through an 18.5 percent property tax increase. His approval rating plunged to 41 percent. The notion of a Bloomberg presidency grows out of his subsequent successes in New York, where he is now widely regarded as a popular, effective and smart leader who carries none of Giuliani's often polarizing personal attributes. By law, Bloomberg cannot run for a third term as mayor in 2009. In its endorsement of his reelection in 2005, the New York Times editorial board praised his handling of the city's issues, from garbage to the homeless to crime. Bloomberg "focused on getting things done, not on getting headlines," the Times wrote, predicting that "he may be remembered as one of the greatest mayors in New York history." The paper's only complaint: what it called the "obscene" and "out-of-control" campaign spending that Bloomberg employed to win his two campaigns. He spent about $85 million in his 2005 campaign against Democrat Fernando Ferrer. Running as a Republican for president is not an option, friends say. As his predecessor did, Bloomberg has taken positions that would be considered too liberal by many GOP primary voters. He supports gun control, has raised taxes, backs same-sex marriage and signed a law banning the use of trans fats in fast-food restaurants. The mayor once filed suit on behalf of the city against two dozen gun dealers. "They are things that don't necessarily sell in Nebraska," said New York lobbyist Norman Adler. Nor is Bloomberg likely to return to the Democratic Party for a tussle with Clinton or Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.). He has expressed to friends a deep frustration with partisan politics in the United States. And if he ran as a Democrat, he might sacrifice his reputation as an independent-minded businessman who is above politics. But running for president as a third-party candidate has its own risks and challenges. The two-party system makes it difficult for third-party candidates to get on the ballot, and waiting until next year could make that hurdle insurmountable. Bloomberg could have help in that area from a group that is planning to hold a "unity" primary to nominate a bipartisan ticket for the White House. The group, Unity08, was founded by, among others, Hamilton Jordan, President Jimmy Carter's chief of staff. "Unity08 believes that neither of today's major parties reflects the aspirations, fears or will of the majority of Americans," its Web site states. "Both have polarized and alienated the people. . . . Unity08 will act to assure that an alternative ticket is presented to the American voters in 2008." Bloomberg could help fulfill that goal. But in conversations with friends, he has been realistic about his chances for success: "How can a 5-foot-7, divorced billionaire Jew running as an independent from New York possibly have a chance?" he has asked. Said one confidant: "Is there going to be a Perot moment where a third-party candidate can come in, much the way Perot did, and have it make sense so you're almost halfway sold before you're out the gate? He's not interested in making a fool of himself. "

< Message edited by LB Jeffries -- 27/3/2007 1:05:09 AM >

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“When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun.”

This is an excellent example of a really, really funny prank that also happens to have a positive social message on a number of fronts. Here's the scoop, via Michael Arrington at TechCrunch, who explains how someone could just hack into a presidential candidate's MySpace page: Someone on Presidential hopeful John McCain's staff is going to be in trouble today. They used a well known template to create his Myspace page. The template was designed by Newsvine Founder and CEO Mike Davidson (original template is here). Davidson gave the template code away to anyone who wanted to use it, but asked that he be given credit when it was used, and told users to host their own image files.McCain's staff used his template, but didn't give Davidson credit. Worse, he says, they use images that are on his server, meaning he has to pay for the bandwidth used from page views on McCain's site.

Davidson decided to send a strongly-worded letter requesting the proper credit. Just kidding! Actually, he tinkered with one of the images on his site that they were accessing, and replaced the "contact information" box with this statement:Today I announce that I have reversed my position and come out in full support of gay marriage...particularly marriage between two passionate females.

Who wants to bet that McCain just rocketed up in the polls? Davidson did McCain a favor! Not to mention making an important political statement about gay rights, and intellectual property rights, and the rights of hot ladies to love each other. McCain and his staffers maybe don't see it that way, because they've already scrubbed the image, but Arrington and Newsvine (which also explains why what McCain and his MySpace-makers did was a no-no) have it preserved for posterity, as does every site that is now picking it up. Gotta love the internet, eh, presidential candidates?

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“When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun.”

Concerns Grow In Clinton Camp About Obama Fundraising Strength Concerned about Senator Barack Obama’s presidential fund-raising, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign has dispatched former President Bill Clinton to attend 16 fund-raisers in the last six weeks and to lead conference calls and Internet appeals to donors, in some cases assessing Mr. Obama’s positions on Iraq. Democrats close to the couple say that Mr. Clinton’s efforts on his wife’s behalf were just beginning and that they were likely to accelerate after he finishes writing a book this spring. Several donors said that Mr. Clinton’s role was even greater than they originally expected after Mrs. Clinton announced her candidacy on Jan. 20. The early deployment of Mr. Clinton highlights the continuing concerns in the Clinton camp about the strength of Mr. Obama’s candidacy and his fund-raising prowess. The Clinton camp has tried to stop any drift of Democratic donors to the Obama camp, since the campaign finance reporting period ending tonight is seen as a huge test of the campaigns’ money-raising abilities as they gird for a crush of early primaries. When Mrs. Clinton announced for the presidency in January, the former president was mentioned in meetings as one of several fund-raising surrogates for her. In short time, he helped raise about $2 million at small dinner parties in Manhattan, sometimes staying far later into the night than planned, and is now ending March with a flourish. After a gala last night headlined by Mrs. Clinton that raised $1 million, Mr. Clinton was scheduled to join her for a cocktail party this evening with the music producer Timbaland in Miami, and a second party where event chairmen were hoping to raise $100,000 each. Even as Mr. Clinton pursues his tasks with gusto, Clinton donors and Democratic allies say that the campaign has also been sensitive about using him too much, for fear that he might overshadow his wife or come to be seen as an overused or exploited asset. This sensitivity has been evident recently. While Mr. Clinton’s schedule has been hectic at times, with some days layered with two fund-raisers, Clinton advisers have tried to minimize his role and his desire to trounce Mr. Obama in fund-raising for the first three months of 2007. Still, John Catsimatidis, a New York fund-raiser who held an event at his apartment with Mr. Clinton on March 3, recalled that at a meeting of fund-raisers in Manhattan soon after Senator Clinton’s announcement, the former president came up briefly in conversation and was not a focus of the fund-raising strategy. But his recent burst of money-raising tells a different story. “It’s a lot more than anyone expected two months ago,” Mr. Catsimatidis said. “President Clinton is a competitive guy, and he has said himself that the March 31 fund-raising deadline was the first primary.” The Clintons’ fund-raising zeal, however, has left some donors bristling. Jim Neal, a North Carolina investment banker who supported Gen. Wesley K. Clark and then, in 2004, Senator John Kerry, said he was alienated by the effort “to put absolutely unprecedented expectations and pressure on donors,” like proposing that some fund-raisers would yield more than $1 million for Mrs. Clinton. “It’s almost like a shakedown — you’re either with us or you’re not,” said Mr. Neal, who participated in an early conference call involving the Clinton campaign chairman, Terry McAuliffe, but is not seen as a major player in the Clintons’ world. “I just find the squeeze, this early, to be quite vulgar,” Mr. Neal added. “This idea that you should try to K.O. other candidates by simply overwhelming them with the amount of money you have in the bank. It’s a bullying tactic.” Mr. Neal said he supported Mr. Clinton in 1992 and 1996, but did not plan to support Mrs. Clinton. A spokeswoman for Mr. McAuliffe and campaign officials declined to respond to Mr. Neal’s comments. With tonight’s fund-raising deadline comes major questions for Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama about the size of their war chests, their ability to raise money online and nationwide, and what advantage, if any, Mr. Obama enjoys among antiwar Democrats, with whom he is popular. Mrs. Clinton, as a veteran of her husband’s two campaigns and her own two Senate races in New York, started off with a far larger donor database and greater name recognition than Mr. Obama, of Illinois, and she had been widely expected to do significantly better than him in fund-raising for this period. One donor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he said the Clintons would not like his speaking openly, said the Clinton campaign had been trying to lower fund-raising expectations because of a concern about a surge by Mr. Obama, who has shown broad appeal among black, female and young Democrats and has captured some big-money donors like Orin Kramer, a former Clinton supporter. “The Clintons thought the nomination would most likely be theirs, barring some major disaster, and they are having to work harder and earlier for the nomination than either Clinton expected,” said the donor, who said he had talked about Mr. Obama with Mr. Clinton. “This was not how things were supposed to go, and they are obsessed with beating Barack in fund-raising.” At some fund-raisers, Mr. Clinton viewed part of his job as “explaining Hillary and Barack” to donors, in the words of one fund-raiser who talked to him — laying out the rivals’ positions on Iraq, for instance, in a manner that minimized their differences and made Mr. Obama appear less-than-consistently antiwar. On a recent conference call with donors, too, Mr. Clinton gave a point-by-point analysis of the candidates’ positions on the war in Iraq. Jay Carson, Mr. Clinton’s communications director, who is also a member of Senator Clinton’s campaign, was asked in an interview if Mr. Clinton was motivated at all by Mr. Obama’s candidacy or by voters’ comparisons of the rivals on Iraq. “He quite obviously believes that his wife is the best candidate, would make the best president, and he is focused on making sure that people understand that,” Mr. Carson said. Obama campaign officials said that Mr. Obama’s opposition to the war has been consistent from the start, and that his success at fund-raising has less to do with famous surrogates than with the appeal of his message. “The Obama campaign isn’t about dollars raised,” said Bill Burton, a spokesman. “It’s about the thousands of people who have shown they want to get involved and be part of this effort to transform our nation.” Officials in the Obama and Clinton campaigns expect each of them to raise far more than past candidates for the Democratic nomination in comparable time periods — the $9 million that Vice President Al Gore raised in the first quarter of 1999, and the $7.4 million that former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina raised in that period in 2003. While any predictions are extremely unreliable and subject to the campaigns’ expectations-setting, the Obama and Clinton camps expect to double those amounts at the least, Democrats close to them say. Mrs. Clinton, as a former first lady and a two-term senator, has a far larger database of donors than does Mr. Obama, who was first elected in 2004. Clinton advisers say she has more than 250,000 people in her database, while Mr. Obama’s campaign Web site says he has about 78,000. In interviews, several donors, fund-raisers and advisers in and around the campaign expressed genuine concern that the size of Mrs. Clinton’s fund-raising margin over Mr. Obama may not be as great as donors initially expected in the early, exuberant days of her candidacy in late January and early February. At the same time, donors and Democratic allies say they have not seen Mr. Clinton so engaged politically in years — suggesting countless ideas to his wife and two top campaign officials, Mr. McAuliffe and Mark Penn, her chief strategist and Mr. Clinton’s former pollster, and enthusiastically taking questions and staying late at her fund-raisers even after attending hundreds of these sorts of events for years. “What’s interesting is how on time he is, how into it he is, and how late he stays,” said Robert Zimmerman, a New York fund-raiser for Mrs. Clinton. “He is into this heart and soul.” Mr. Zimmerman added, only half-jokingly, “I don’t remember him being so on time when he ran.”

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“When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun.”

WASHINGTON — Two Democratic presidential candidates broke previous fundraising records during the first three months of the year, with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton setting a high bar of $26 million in new contributions for the quarter. Former Sen. John Edwards' campaign said he had raised more than $14 million since the beginning of the year. The Clinton campaign also announced that she had transferred about $10 million from her last Senate campaign, bringing her total receipts for the quarter to $36 million. Edwards had no such transfers of money. Clinton aides would not specify how many of her contributions were designated only for the primary election and how many could only be used in the general election, if she were the party's nominee. Edwards' aides said about $1 million of his contributions could only be used in a general election. Neither campaign divulged how much money it had spent in the quarter or how much cash it had in hand. Still, the total raised by each candidate outdistanced past presidential election records and set a new bar by which to measure fundraising abilities. Sen. Barack Obama - sandwiched in public opinion polls between Clinton and Edwards - had yet to reveal his totals, although they are believed to be a staggering $21+ million. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's campaign said he had raised $6 million in primary campaign money and had more than $5 million cash in hand at the end of the three-month period. Democratic Sen. Joseph Biden said on "Fox News Sunday" he had raised about $3 million in the quarter. Biden also had about $3.6 million in his Senate campaign account that he could transfer to a presidential run. The rest of the Democratic field and the Republican presidential candidates planned to announce their first-quarter totals over the next few days. The fundraising deadline for the January through March period was Saturday, with financial reports due April 15.

Republican Phil Gramm of Texas and Democrat Al Gore of Tennessee held the records for first-quarter receipts: $8.7 million for Gramm in 1995 and $8.9 million for Gore in 1999. Gramm dropped out before New Hampshire held the 1996 election's first primary.

< Message edited by LB Jeffries -- 2/4/2007 12:13:20 AM >

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“When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun.”

Tommy Thompson Joins Crowded Republican Field Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson on Sunday joined the crowded field of Republicans running for the White House in 2008 and proclaimed himself the "reliable conservative" in the race. Thompson, who was health and human services secretary during President Bush's first term, also said he is the only GOP candidate who has helped assemble both a state and federal budget. Since announcing last year he was forming a presidential exploratory committee to raise money and gauge support, Thompson has lagged behind better-known rivals. Thompson, 65, has focused his strategy on Iowa, which holds the nation's first caucuses for presidential nominees. He has made weekly visits to the state and sought to make the case that it will take a candidate who can carry the Midwest to win the nomination. "Things are started to coalesce and I feel very, very optimistic about my future," Thompson said Sunday, despite his single-digit polling. "I am the reliable conservative. My record shows that. All that people have to do is look at my record, and I am one individual that they can count on," Thompson said. Discussing some campaign issues, he said: He would have "a completely different Iraq strategy" from the president's. Thompson said he would "demand" that the Iraqi government vote as to whether it wanted the U.S. to remain in the country. If the answer were yes, "it immediately gives a degree of legitimacy." If the answer were no, "We would get out, absolutely. It's a duly elected government." He would veto the war spending bills in Congress that have timelines for a U.S. exit from Iraq. "This is an invitation to continue the kind of civil war that's going on right now. I think it's the worst mistake," Thompson said. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has made "terrible mistakes" in the handling of the fired federal prosecutors. "I would not have appointed Mr. Gonzales. I would have appointed somebody that was loyal to me," Thompson said. At a recent news conference in Wisconsin, Thompson called himself "the dark horse candidate. I was a dark horse candidate for governor. I was a dark horse candidate when I ran for the Assembly. I am the underdog, and I don't mind that." The son of a grocer, Thompson spent 14 years as governor of Wisconsin, pushing for an overhaul of the state's welfare laws. He also championed a school choice program for Milwaukee. His time in Bush's Cabinet included anthrax attacks, a flu vaccine shortage and passage of the Medicare prescription drug benefit law. In 2006, he briefly flirted with the idea of running for governor but in the end decided not to seek his old job. He had considered running for president in 2000 but scrapped that, too, deciding he lacked support.

quote:

Obama To Report Over 100,000 In First Quarter Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign has received over 100,000 donations in the first quarter of 2007, the campaign's website reports. 83,531 individuals donated to Senator Obama's campaign for a total of 108,095 donations.

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Edwards Presidential Run To Be Family Affair DES MOINES, Iowa --Iowans probably will see a lot of John Edwards' family over the next year, his wife said Friday. The couple plan to pull their two youngest children out of school next fall and take them along on the presidential campaign trail, Elizabeth Edwards said. The Edwardses were considering the move before last week, when she learned her breast cancer had returned and become incurable. Because of that news, she said, she and her husband are more determined to keep the children -- Emma Claire, 8, and Jack, 6 -- close at hand. ''Selfishly, we love being with them,'' she said. Edwards said she and her husband would hire a full-time tutor to travel with the family. The experience would be an educational opportunity, she said, adding that other families have taken their children out of school for mission trips or sailing voyages. The Edwardses also have a 25-year-old daughter, Cate, a law school student who sometimes campaigns with them. Their first child, Wade, died in a 1996 car accident.

quote:

Clinton Gets Chance To Grill Guiliani THE first face-to-face confrontation of next year's presidential race is looming over a US Senate inquiry into health problems suffered by workers at New York's Ground Zero after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. As the chairwoman of a Senate committee investigating complaints the workers were misled about air quality after the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Centre, Hillary Clinton - the Democrat frontrunner for the presidential nomination - confirmed last week she was considering calling Rudolph Giuliani, the former mayor of New York and the leading Republican contender in the campaign, to testify at a public hearing. The health committee's inquiry has presented Senator Clinton with an intriguing political choice, with potentially volatile repercussions for the presidential race. By calling Mr Giuliani as a witness, she could place him in the awkward position of having to submit to her senatorial authority and face a grilling that might dent the heroic image he acquired in his response to the 9/11 attacks. At the same time, Democratic aides have acknowledged Senator Clinton might risk being accused of playing politics with tragedy. The Senate inquiry follows claims by at least 9000 New Yorkers that they are suffering from lung and stomach ailments they blame on the toxic rubble at Ground Zero. Guiliani was dubbed "America's mayor" by talk show host Oprah Winfrey. But he was fiercely criticised last month by the firemen's union, which has never forgiven him for halting the search for bodies. The mayor was anxious at the time that clean-up operations should begin, but more than five years later body parts are still being found around Ground Zero. He has also been criticised for failing to provide the fire department with more modern communications equipment, which was requested after the attack on the World Trade Centre in 1993. Sally Regenhard, whose son was one of the 343 firefighters killed in the attacks, said she had no problem if Mr Giuliani ran for president on his record of reducing New York crime, "but when he runs on 9/11, I want the American people to know he was part of the problem". Senator Clinton has been swift to exploit her rival's difficulties. She earned three standing ovations at a firemen's convention in Washington this month, and promised that, as president, she would "take care of the people who have taken care of us". Behind the fencing over health issues lies mounting pressure on both the Clinton and Giuliani camps to maintain their opinion poll leads. In a Gallup poll published last week by USA Today, Mr Giuliani's lead over John McCain of Arizona had shrunk from 24 points at the beginning of March to nine points three weeks later. Mr Giuliani also faces a possible challenge from former senator Fred Thompson, a Hollywood actor turned conservative politician who shot from zero to 12 points in the same poll, simply by announcing he was considering entering the race. In the Gallup poll, Senator Clinton's lead over Barack Obama narrowed slightly from 14 points to 13. On Thursday, a new Time magazine poll gave Senator Clinton only an eight-point lead over Senator Obama, with former senator John Edwards jumping nine points to 26 points, only four behind Senator Obama.

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“When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun.”

That's a hell fo a war chest for both Clinton and Obama, and if we're talking realistically here, it's going to be a race between those two, with any other candidate falling by the wayside - it's one thing for the plucky outsider to get the nomination in The West Wing but in the real world getting the message out is down to money, and Clinton and Obama have got the cash.

The main thing about this particular race is that we're unlikely to see the vaunted Clinton/Obama President/VP ticket (or indeed, Obama/Clinton) as I don't think either would swallow their pride to become the other's VP at this stage.

The John Edwards news is tragic - I'm sure he's staying in the race for only good reasons, and that he's not going to make political capital from his wifes cancer, but in his position I don't think I could have carried on in the race. I think I'd have retired gracefully and made 'spending more time with my family' actually be true in a politicians life.

And Hillary would be mad to call Giuliani to testify before her at those hearings - it would be seen as political campaigning using tragedy as a backdrop, without question. If Giuliani genuinely needs to testify, she should recuse herself from hearing his testimony as they are both presidential candidates. I don't think there's a problem with her considering his testimony for the reports conclusions, but for her to actually be grilling him about it live on TV would be a political act of folly.

The main thing about this particular race is that we're unlikely to see the vaunted Clinton/Obama President/VP ticket (or indeed, Obama/Clinton) as I don't think either would swallow their pride to become the other's VP at this stage.

I think it's possible that Clinton could pick Obama but the chances he would pick Clinton are almost zero. If she were to lose the nomination I don't think she would want to be his VP either. She would have her eye on Harry Reid's job as Leader of the Senate. If she were to win I think there's a good chance that she would choose either Mark Warner (former Virginia Governor) or Bill Richardson (current New Mexico Governor) as her VP. I think Obama would likely pick Edwards.

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“When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun.”

1. Hillary Clinton - New York Senator If it wasn't apparent a few weeks ago, it is now: the Clinton campaign is the establishment. Two endorsements in the last week signal that loud and clear: the Vilsacks in Iowa and one-half of the Shaheens in New Hampshire. The Clinton camp knows it can't avoid the establishment tag, so why not take as much advantage of it as possible? Eventually, it could become a problem (Democratic primary voters shy away from establishment candidates more than GOP voters), but for now, it allows her to build a lead and infrastructure. Expectations and stereotypes have been a problem for Clinton, but there is one widely held perception that could help her: the idea that she is standoffish and aloof. Apparently, her in-person events continue to win praise from attendees and Iowans always have an open mind, so the low expectations of Hillary's personality might actually be an asset. The more she surpasses her personality-expectations bar in face-to-face Iowa meetings, the better she could do in the caucuses. Labor ranking: 2/3 (She'll get a few key labor leaders to endorse).

2. Barack Obama - Illinois Senator The Clinton camp is doing a marvelous job of getting more and more "what's behind the curtain?" stories written. It's what the media does so well; building someone up and then nitpicking him back down to earth. Still, it is the next question on the minds of many Democratic activists. Obama's a blank slate and they just want to see a few term papers. These folks may not even want A work, but they want an effort. It appears April or May may be when Camp Obama starts delivering more details. Labor ranking: 3/2 (He has the rank-and-file fired up in some key unions; the question is whether the leaders of some of these unions decide to roll the dice, a la Howard Dean).3. John Edwards - Former North Carolina Senator At what point does Edwards hold an event where Elizabeth's health isn't mentioned? Trust us, the campaign doesn't want to be talking about this on a daily basis. It's a delicate thing for both the press and the campaign; it's the elephant in the room whenever someone is covering Edwards. The campaign hopes that her health isn't "in the room" when talking with possible Democratic caucus voters. To date, Edwards is winning the policy primary, but Democratic activists aren't indicating that they are that interested in policy just yet. Labor ranking: 1 (But he doesn't have a lock, and unless a candidate can get a lock on labor, it diffuses enough that no one gets a true bump).4. Bill Richardson - New Mexico Governor Speaking of offering details, Richardson has been busy on the policy front as well. His health care plan is somewhat similar to Mitt Romney's "car insurance" approach in Massachusetts. Richardson's chance to shine (assuming he raises decent second-tier money) is at the early debates. Does he become the "common sense" pragmatist, but without the DLC baggage that could alienate the netroots? Labor ranking: 6 (Most governors get a bit too cozy with business for labor's taste, but just because he ranks No. 6 doesn't mean he's anti-labor).5. Christopher Dodd - Connecticut Senator The Connecticut senator is ready for his close-up. The campaign is banking (literally) on a surprising money report to get key folks to take a second look. Of the second-tier candidates, no one may have a better campaign organization. But will Dodd find second-quarter money? It's a big, big question. Labor ranking: 5 (He has all the right bona fides, it's just that other folks in this race are preferred right now).6. Joseph Biden - Delaware Senator Is it just us, or has Biden really been struggling to gain traction lately? No one likes dismissing the Democrats' best foreign policy guy in the Senate as some has-been when it comes to the presidential campaign, but he needs to get folks excited about his candidacy again. The announcement, of course, was a problem and he's never shaken that bad start. We'll know more in a few days. Labor ranking: 4 (He probably connects better with the blue-collar unions than any other candidate; he's done this rodeo a few times and it shows).7. Dennis Kucinich - Ohio Congressman We're sensing that even the "everyone deserves the chance" Democratic-activist types are tiring of this act.

8. Mike Gravel - Former Alaska Senator Does it matter?

REPUBLICANS

1. Rudy Guiliani - Former New York City Mayor There are three distinct camps among those Republicans who don't think Giuliani will win the nomination: the McCain camp, the Huckabee camp and the Arlington camp. The McCain camp believes questions about Giuliani's business practices and his personal character will disqualify him, and that his liberal positions on issues will be the coup de grace. The MSM is mostly in this camp. The Huckabee camp believes Giuliani is objectively too liberal to be the nominee and will not vote for him. The Arlington camp doesn't know whether Giuliani will be elected but worries -- for the sake of its organizations' bottom lines -- how a social liberal would affect the power and influence of organized conservative interests. If the election were held tomorrow, Giuliani would win. He doesn't have McCain's organizational strength, money, or endorsements, but he has a solid and growing lead in national polls. And so far, he's repelled some fairly devastating attacks (like the notion that he does not speak to his son). Fundraising projection: $15 million, +/- $3 million. Fundraising ranking: 3.2. John McCain - Arizona Senator Giuliani's rise does not reflect any diminished capacity on Sen. McCain's part. He still has the biggest and best campaign, the most talented operatives, a great stump manner (check out those second day bus tour clips) and the best chance to survive the gauntlet laid down by the Republican base. Still, early polls don't mean too much, but it's hard for us to call McCain the front-runner any longer when 80 percent of the voting base routinely chooses someone else. Real skepticism is growing among the media too. Do not for a moment believe we are downgrading the chances of McCain's surviving, recovering, and ultimately thriving. But we can't ignore the voices of an already-fairly engaged electorate. Fundraising projection: $20 million, +/- $5 million. Fundraising ranking: 2.3. Mitt Romney - Former Massachusetts Governor Romney's Florida gaffe underscores his political problems. It's not that Romney isn't smart -- he is. It's not that he isn't a gifted politician -- he is. It's not that his advisers aren't smart -- they are. But if Romney is a natural presidential type, he doesn't seem to be a natural politician. He -- and the guy does write a lot of his own speeches -- overthinks. He tries to be someone, to say something, to leave a political impression, rather than simply showing up and talking to his audience, not at them. Alienating South Florida Cuban-American Republicans has real electoral consequences. Winning candidates cannot, and mostly do not -- make these mistakes. Fundraising projection: $25 million, +/- $5 million. Fundraising ranking: 1. Remember, Romney has the bigger initial "friends of" Rolodex, including Bainiacs, Bostonians, Utahns and fellow Mormons. Oh, and don't forget his own bank account.4. "The Drafties" Fred Thompson (or another flavor of the month, i.e., Jeb/Haley) goes here. For this month, it's Thompson. There are plenty of skeptics on Thompson. He doesn't have the ambition, says, oh, everyone in D.C. He's not THAT conservative, say those in other camps. He's not THAT well-known, say those in the analyst world. He's simply gaming for better pay when subbing for Paul Harvey, say some in the media. The real reason so many aren't sure of Thompson's seriousness? His circle is incredibly small. But it is serious (led by his wife). By mid-April, we'll have a better idea of whether he's a go. There's a major Cap Hill day coming up and the excitement he generates (or doesn't) among increasingly nervous Republicans will tell us whether he gets in. Fundraising projection and ranking: n/a.5. Sam Brownback - Kansas Senator Brownback told NH activists this week that he was pro-life -– for the "whole life," which is a line Huckabee has been using for a while. It's interesting that the race's two distinct social conservatives -- Huckabee and Brownback -- are both anti-stereotype -- both "New" evangelicals. Fundraising projection: $6 million, +/- $3 million. Fundraising ranking: 5.6. Mike Huckabee - Former Arkansas Governor He says that only money folks and activists are focused on the '08 race now. Polls show that surprisingly large numbers of voters are, too. The most interesting thing about Huckabee? He's the Republican who Democrats assume will get traction. Our warning: Never trust a smart Republican to handicap Dem presidential politics, and never trust a smart Democrat to handicap the GOP side. Fundraising projection: $5 million, +/- $3 million. Fundraising ranking: 7.7. Tommy Thompson - Former Wisconsin Governor He's going to announce! That's worth something, right? And he's making a hard play for Iowa. But why don't we see him on TV? The MSM doesn't seem to take him that seriously yet. Maybe the formal announcement will change that. Fundraising projection: $6 million, +/- $3 million. Fundraising ranking: 6 (tie).8. Jim Gilmore - Former Virginia Governor A good first quarter could bump him up a few slots and give him some of the free media he craves. And he has the Virginia business chops to find the cash. Fundraising projection: $5 million, +/- $3 million. Fundraising ranking: 4 (or 6).9. Duncan Hunter - California Congressman With due respect, it's not a good sign when your own advisers roll their eyes when we ask about your presidential aspirations. He does seem to be raising a little bit of money, though. Fundraising projection: $6 million, +/- $3 million. Fundraising ranking: 6 (tie).10. Chuck Hagel - Nebraska Senator Hamlet. Seriously. He did a ton of damage to his credibility among the most important constituency he had been cultivating over the last 10 years: the media. Fundraising projection and ranking: n/a11. Newt Gingrich - Former House Speaker The Dobson confession was planned. Word on the street is that he was told he needed to go public with his sins to have any chance of getting social conservative support. But note Richard Land's comments earlier this week, which essentially said, thanks but no thanks. Fundraising projection and ranking: n/a.12. Tom Tancredo - Colorado Congressman He's got to love the stories suggesting that immigration as an issue is due for a renaissance. Fundraising projection: $3 million, +/- $2 million. Fundraising ranking: 8.

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“When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun.”

The Senate inquiry follows claims by at least 9000 New Yorkers that they are suffering from lung and stomach ailments they blame on the toxic rubble at Ground Zero. Guiliani was dubbed "America's mayor" by talk show host Oprah Winfrey. But he was fiercely criticised last month by the firemen's union, which has never forgiven him for halting the search for bodies. The mayor was anxious at the time that clean-up operations should begin, but more than five years later body parts are still being found around Ground Zero.

This is a very sore spot indeed. The dust from the Towers lingered for days. I mean several days. Meanwhile, the workers there and those of us that lived there were inhaling this. What absolutely makes me livid is that the Red Cross was not provided breathing masks to distribute. For people like myself, there wasn't an option of running home to make a makeshift breathing mask because we were blocked from our homes since they were in very close proximity to the Towers.

The horror of this is when we began to realize that they were NOT finding bodies. In short, for those of us stuck out in the debris cloud as it rolled down the streets, we were not only inhaling the building smashed into powder, but people as well.

I have respiratory problems that I never had before. Today, my lungs are raw and this has been common since 9/11. Guiliani failed on many levels. I absolutely can't stomach it when people praise him.

I agree with other comments that the coveted Clinton/Obama (or vice versa) ticket is unlikely due to pride, but I would LOVE to see that. Who knows though? As things roll along, these two could start thinking "Being in the White House even as VP is better than not being there at all."

I 100% believe they would win should they pair up.

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I feel like I'm Han Solo, and you're Chewie and she's Ben Kenobi and we're in that fucked-up bar.

This is the captain speaking. It appears we are going down. Now may be the time to reflect upon your life and pray to whatever deity you believe in. We know you have your choice of airlines and apparently you made the wrong one.

The $23.5 million Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., raised for his presidential campaign for use in the primaries is more than that raised by the Democratic frontrunner, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.

Of the $26 million Clinton has raised in the first quarter of 2007 for her presidential campaign, approximately $20 million is to be used in the primaries and caucuses.

Clinton campaign officials cautioned that its campaign was still ascertaining how much of its $26 million raised is available for primary use.

While that is accurate, roughly $20 million is designated for the primary — it could be slightly less or slightly more. Either way, Obama raised more primary cash than Clinton.

The remaining $6 million of the $26 million raised by Clinton is designated for use in the general election if the former first lady wins her party's nomination. Clinton also has slightly more than $10 million that she has transferred from her 2006 Senate campaign account.

Clinton has a distinct money advantage and leads in every national poll, but the fact that rookie Obama has bested a veteran like Clinton in many aspects of fundraising — he rasied $6.9 million on the Internet, for instance, compared with Clinton's $4.2 million — has stunned the political world.

"We're really humbled by the amazing outpouring of support," Obama told WLS Radio today. "It is broad-based — we did it without taking PAC money, without taking federal lobbyist money, so we feel really good about it."

Added a prominent supporter, Rep. Jesse Jackson, D-Ill., "This is a long road and a long process to the White House, but make no doubt about it, Barack Obama is driving the fastest car."

Obama received donations from more than 100,000 donors, far surpassing any other candidate, including Clinton (50,000); Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., (45,000); former Sen. John Edwards, D-NC, (40,000); or former GOP Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (34,000).

Obama Had More Donors Than Hillary And Edwards — Combined!

Another quick thought on Barack Obama's more than 100,000 donors.

Take Hillary Clinton's 50,000 donors, and combine them with John Edwards' 40,000 donors...and you get this striking conclusion:

Obama had more individual donors — over 100,000 of them, remember — than his two main rivals put together.

Meanwhile, Obama had the smallest average donation, at $250 per donor, versus $350 for Edwards and an astonishingly high $520 for Hillary — which means he'll perhaps be in a better position to tap his past donors for more small donations as the campaign progresses.

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“When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun.”

I am actually, for the first time in, what is it now... seven years?... feeling optimistic about who will be in the White House. I have a strong feeling the Democrats will get it this time and quite frankly, no one on the Democratic ticket is as bad as Bush.

_____________________________

I feel like I'm Han Solo, and you're Chewie and she's Ben Kenobi and we're in that fucked-up bar.

This is the captain speaking. It appears we are going down. Now may be the time to reflect upon your life and pray to whatever deity you believe in. We know you have your choice of airlines and apparently you made the wrong one.

After watching all 7 series of The West Wing in about 3 months, I'm quite excited about this. Although admittedly I have no idea who is up for election. Can we have a quick Beginners Guide run-down of who is in what camp please. Who's Santos and who's Vinick in other words Ooops, spoiler there

After watching all 7 series of The West Wing in about 3 months, I'm quite excited about this. Although admittedly I have no idea who is up for election. Can we have a quick Beginners Guide run-down of who is in what camp please. Who's Santos and who's Vinick in other words Ooops, spoiler there

DEMOCRATSHillary Clinton (John Hoynes) Huge warchest, presumptive nominee, establishment, trying to drag the party to the centre. Barack Obama (Jed Bartlett) Outsider, not expected to win nomination as Clinton has the money, contacts and infrastructure in place. The 'inspiring' choice. John Edwards (Matthew Santos) Expected to be one of the also-rans who could snag a VP spot like he did 4 years ago on Kerry's ticket. Not be under-estimated as has huge netroots following.

REPUBLICANSRudy Guiliani (Arnold Vinick) Liberal Republican, in favour of gun-control, abortion-rights and same-sex civil unions. A VERY strong contender if he can get through the bloody Republican primaries without having give in too much to the evangelicals. Has started to do that, though (think when Vinick caves in to them on conservative judges).

Other Republican contenders are Sen. John McCain and Mitt Romney. Both are currently selling their soul to the hard-right of the Republican Party and neither is worthy of the Oval Office.

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“When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun.”

At the moment, I think a Clinton-Obama ticket would be the best idea for the Dems. Obama will get the 'lack of experience' criticisim levelled at him at every turn, but Hillary has that in spades. It also sets up Obama in 4-8 years in a prime position to take over.

I quite like the idea of America having a woman, and then a black man in power. might change a few things, or just split the country even more.

As for the Republicans, Giuliani is both pro-choice and pro-gun control. Not a bad person to get their nomination.

Which is why I doubt he will get their nomination, he is just too centreist - the republicans though might be smart to do this - with two major candidates from the democrats side pretty much on the left leaning centre and the slightly toward right, the republicans would be smart to field a guy who will probably take the centre and appeal to the left as well as the right

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I think we can all agree, history is in the past

- George Dubya Bush

Some say he only knows two things about ducks .... and both of them are wrong